Deborah Kerbel

Readings

I offer an entertaining and interactive presentation in which I discuss who I am, how I became a writer, and my road to publication. I also include a fun quiz on famous children’s authors which always captures the interest of the audience and encourages their participation. Towards the end, I discuss my novels and upcoming projects, including various personal anecdotes about each of my books.

During the final 15 minutes of the presentation, I give a reading, hold a Q & A session, and hand out signed bookmarks to the kids.

Here’s a testimonial about one of my recent school presentations:

“Our Grade 7 and 8 students had the pleasure of hosting a visit by author, Deborah Kerbel, to talk about her book, Mackenzie Lost and Found and the presentation was a tremendous success. Deborah completely captured the attention of the intermediate students as she talked about her pathway to becoming a published author right from when she was a little girl. She included a quiz about famous authors which the students loved and it kept them actively engaged during the session, which was also evident by the number of questions for Deborah at the end and the line-up afterwards of students wanting to borrow the book. I would absolutely recommend Deborah for an author visit for intermediate/junior students. You won't be sorry!”
- Frances Parker, Librarian, Rogers P.S. Newmarket, Ontario

Special Equipment:

I will bring my laptop computer to run my PowerPoint presentation, but I do require an LCD projector, a viewing screen, a table for my presentation materials, a microphone (if I'm speaking in large venues or to groups greater than 30) and a bottle of water.

Book Sales:

Deborah will bring copies of herbooks to the readings for students to purchase and have autographed.

Workshops

My workshop is designed to help kids and teens take their writing to the next level. Participants can expect to come away with a variety of creative new ideas and material for their stories as well as the tools to implement them. This will be an interactive workshop covering the following points:

Ideas
- Where do writers get their ideas?

Character
- What makes a good character? What do you need to know about your characters before you let them step foot onto your page? We will do a brainstorming exercise in character development.

Setting
- How different settings and scenes can shape your story and improve its readability. We will do an interactive exercise on setting selection.

Action
- Where does your story begin? And where does it end? Getting right to the heart of your story by identifying these points is essential. Once that’s done, a writer is free to jump right into the action.

During the final part of the workshop, participants will take five minutes to write a scene using some of the character traits, setting ideas, and action scenes that were collectively brainstormed within the group.

Special Equipment:

White board or chalkboard.

Book Sales:

Deborah will bring copies of herbooks to the readings for students to purchase and have autographed.

Biography

Deborah Kerbel lives and writes in Thornhill, Ontario. She is the author of two YA novels, a holiday storybook for pre-schoolers, as well various upcoming projects. When Deborah’s not writing, she’s busy being a full time ‘Mama’ to her two young children.